Potato-digger



' '2 Sheets-Shem 1;

L, A, ASPINW ALL. Potato-Digger.

No 224,123 Patented-Feb. 3, 1880.

wwlie 2 Sheets-Shet 2.

- L. A. ASPINWAL-LL Potato-Digger. No. 224,123. Patented Feb. 3, I880.

TED

[PATENT O FICE.

LEWIS A. AsPIi IwALnorALBANY, NEWYORK,

sPEcrFIcAmoN forming jp rt'qr t eters raihi-fivo. 224,123, dated February 3, 1880. I

p POTA TO -DLGG E R. i r 1 Application filed se tmberes, m9. :Patentedin England, Novemberf, 1878.

Too whom it may concemt t i Be it known that I, LEWIS"AUGUS'IUSAS- PINWALL, of Albany, in theTSt-atef of "New 'York, United States of America, but'at present of 33 Chancery Lane, inthe county of Middlesex, London,:En gland, have inventedhew and useful lmprovements in the Construction of Potato-Diggers, which improvements are fully set forth in the following specification, reference'bein g had to the accompanyingdrawings.

In the specification of a previous United States patent, dated24th Apiil, 1877, ,No. 189,911, I have described a separator consisting of two bladesor paddles convergingat the outside end and held at the other endwby a rlng. I j y f Now, according to this present'invention, I

construct a separator consisting, mainly, of

two bars or two pairs of bars, by preference hat, of apeculiar construction. Each of these bars is of a step-by-step construction, and arranged so as to form a kind of screw that is not of a continuous line, as an ordinary screw, but of sections or steps. I prefer to taper and split the outer ends and to terminate them in curves instead of steps. The steps may be an-f gular or rounded. These screw-bars are fastened to a head,disk, or rin g on a barrel or boss revolving on a fixed stud or on a spindle supported in the side frame of the machine.

- The rotary motion may beimparted in a simi lar way as describedin the aforesaid previous patent specification.

I prefer to make the bars of such a size or section as to vibrate slightly by the movement and working of the implement, in order to prevent the, accumulation of and clogging with earth. v The number of bars maybe varied according to size andrequirements of the machine.

I prefer not to use any cross-bars or connections between the aforesaid step screw-bars.

My improvements will be fully understood by referenceto the accompanying drawings, of which"- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine or implement; Fig. 2, a vertical longitudinal section through same, and Fig.3 a plan. Figs, 4 to 10 are details.

The platform A is carriedand connected I withtlie barrel of the top frame, A,by the two straps A2 in which is thewheel-axle B, which A is the top frame ofthe machine. It has several bolt-holes, a. The platform A and the top frame, A, are-united by a bolt, (1, which may 1",,and with it the top frame, A, to which it is connected by'th e arm D.

the frame A andabutting against the leadwlieel frame N, which at its upper or back'extensions, N andNZis jointed to theframe A, serves to regulate the depth to which the plow D enters the ground, the front or lead wheel,'O, running in the furrow and carrying the colter N i 4 and 5, the former being aside view and the latter an end View of same. .a spindle, d, which works in a long boss on the bracket or plate 9, which, by means of three bolts, is secured to the side frame, A of the machine.

0 and a are two pairs of bars, by preference flat, or they may be of an oval or other section. The outer bars, 0 0, start from opposite sides of a boss, ring, or disk, 6, and proceed step by step in a mainly circular or curved direction, and so as to forma kind of screw, but not of a continuous line, as an ordinary screw, but of sections or steps. The bars a c are, by preference, tapered off toward the outer ends, as shown. The outer bars, 0, are, by preference, split at the ends, as shown. It will be noticed that the step-by-step form in this case only extends part of their length, and I prefer to terminate their outer or free ends in easycurves, as here shown.

. The screw F, passing through the nut fon The separator is shown in one form at Figs.-

carries the two loose carriage-wheels C and O.

be1'ilaced in anyone of the holes'a, whereby' lever G is pulled back the roller 4 rides on the platform A and the'lev'er r is broughtintoa vertical position, thereby raising the-bracket connected, and to whichthe plow D is also The spindle d, supported in and free to revolve in the boss 9, as described, is on the outer end fitted with a pinion, M, which receives rotary motion from the tooth-wheel L, fixed on the axle B, when the road-wheel O, which is loose on the same axle, is clutched in with it and when the machine is traveled along over the ground. The road-wheel G is clutched in with the tooth-wheel L by throwing the pawlJ into the ratchet-wheel K, which is fast on the axle B. The pawl J is jointed to the plate J, which is bolted to the nave of the traveling wheel jis a bent spring for holding the pawl in gear, or for holding it quite out of gear when raised into the position shown in dotted lines.

The separator might be made to revolve ,on

a fixed stud, instead of being fixed .on a spindle, as here shown.

Fig. 6 is a view of a separator with two .of the bars 0 c removed,-so as to show more clearly how the bars 0 e are arranged. Fig. 7 is a side view, and Fig. 8 an end View, of a separator with two step screw-bars 0 only. The ends of the bars a e serve to separate the potatoes from their tops.

The number of bars may be varied according to size and requirements of the machine.

I prefer not to use any cross-bars or connection between the aforesaid step screw-bars. The step parts of the bars may be made with slightly-rounded corners but I prefer to make them sharp, as shown.

The plowshare D, which is shown separately in side elevation and plan, Figs. 9 and 10, has at the back a round bar, upon which are several short fingers, q. Five of these are shown. They have stops that preventthem falling; but they are free to swing upwardly upon the round bar. These fingers are to prevent the separator being stopped or broken in case of a stone lodging in the revolving separator, as the fingers will lift; but they will not drop down lower than the position shown.

I claim as my invention 1. In a potato-digging machine, arevolving separator composed of a head, 0, and two or more bars, 0 0, connected thereto, said bars being of an approximately helical form, with ofl'sets or steps, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The .combination, in a potato-diggcr, of the plowD and short fingers q and their stophinge, with a separator that is formed of a head, 0, and two or more bars, a 0, connected thereto and provided with off-sets or steps, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

L. AUGS. ASPIN WALL.

Witnesses WILLM. HARDEN, Soficitor, 22 North John Street, Inlverpool, Engand.

W. M. ALEXANDER, Clerk to Willm. Harden, 22 North John Street,

Liverpool, England. 

